High specific heat is one of five properties of water that is important to life. Specific heat is defined as the heat necessary to raise one gram of water by one degree Celsius. Because water's temperature does not change dramatically when absorbing or losing heat, water can absorb or release exceeding amounts of heat (by breaking and forming hydrogen bonds) without affecting living organisms in the water and at the same time helping terrestrial organisms outside the water live easier. For example, coastal areas are usually cooler than inland areas farther from the ocean. This is because the ocean acts as a water sink and absorbs the heat in the air, making the water warmer and the surrounding temperatures cooler. As a result, people living closer to the ocean have more comfortable living conditions, and fish would practically not be affected because water can take in or give out a lot of heat without changing as much in temperature. It is in this same way that when temperatures are colder, such as in the winter, heat is given off from the water and temperatures become warmer, benefiting those living near the water.

The factors of frozen water are also important properties to life. When ice freezes water molecules expand, making ice less dense than water as a liquid. This benefits living organisms by causing the less dense ice to float above the water, preventing creatures from being crushed by the ice, and also keeping them from freezing as well. Not only does the ice absorb heat making waters cooler, but it also insulates this heat creating a livable habitat for the animals below.

Evaporative cooling and high heat of vaporization are more important properties of water. Evaporation is the conversion of a liquid to a gas, while high heat of vaporization is the heat needed to convert the liquid to a gas. When water is heated, its molecules with the greatest kinetic energy break off and turn to gas. Because the molecules with higher kinetic energy leave, the...

YOU MAY ALSO FIND THESE DOCUMENTS HELPFUL

...Properties of WaterWater is essential for life as we know it on earth. It is used by plants
and animals for basic biological processes which would be impossible without the
use of water. The origin of all life can be traced back to the water in the
Earth's precambrien seas. Water is also the universal solvent. It reacts with
more elements and compounds than any other substance known to man.Water is a polar molecule made up of on atom of hydrogen and two atoms of
oxygen. It is attracted to itself by hydrogen bonds. Hydrogen bonds are weaker
than covalent bonds, but collectively these bonds hold water together and give
it its cohesiveness. These bonds are also very important to water's ability to
absorb heat, as without hydrogen bonds water would have a boiling point of -80
degrees C and a freezing point of -100 degrees C.
In reality, however, water has a boiling point of 100 degrees C and a
freezing point of 0 degrees C. The amount of energy needed to raise the
temperature of one gram of water by one Celsius degree is called a Calorie. One
Calorie is about twice as much energy as you need to warm one gram of most other
fluids by the same amount. This makes water much better for regulating the
temperatures of animals and the environment.
Water also has a...

...
Name: ______________________________________ Date: ____________
Properties of Water Lab
Introduction: Water is a simple molecule, yet itʼs most vital to all living things. It has the highest specific heat of everyday substances. Unique properties of water enable it to carry out functions that no other substances can. In a neutral aqueous solution, five molecules of water are bonded together by weak hydrogen bonds. Furthermore, due to the electronegativity of oxygen, water is a polar molecule. Due to its polarity, water is classified as the universal solvent. You will investigate the life-sustaining properties of water throughout this lab.
Part One: Polarity
Label the diagram of water below. Make sure you label the oxygen, hydrogen atoms as well as the partial charges which creates waterʼs polarity.
31927802603500
What causes polarity?
Why does polarity allow water to be such a good solvent?
Measure 10 grams of NaCl and add this to a cup of 100 ml water.
Stir the salt to dissolve. Record how long it takes to dissolve all of the salt. __________
Which is the solute? _______________________
Which is the solvent? _______________________
48983907302500
Add oil to a cup of water.
Does the oil mix with water? _______
Is oil considered a hydrophobic or...

...﻿ water exists in liquid, solid, and gaseous states
water referred to universal solvent ( bipolar molecule enables it to dissolve a wide variety of substances)
ice floats ( temperatures drop molecules come together as a solid, elections repell (the molecules get less close thus making the ice have less density than water. If this did not occur ice could sink and destroy living organism. (sea animals)
Thermal propertiesWater resist temperature change, due to high specific heat which in turn helps our body (70% water) keeps the water from overheating or freezing.
Absorbency
The ability to take in a material
Adhesion
The tendency of water to stick to other substances
Buoyancy
The ability of a fluid to exert an upward force on an object that is immersed in the fluid
Capillary Action
The process that moves water through a narrow porous space (cohesion helps the transfer of water up through fibers of plants) Needed for plants to survive
Cohesion
The attractive force between water molecules or the tendency of water molecule to stick to other water molecules ( water because of hydrogen bonds. provides capillary action, helps water to move up the xylem of plant)
Density
The amount of mass of a substance per unit volume that determines whether an object...

...Water is a chemical compound with the chemical formula H
2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms that are connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at standard ambient temperature and pressure, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state, steam (water vapor).
Water covers 71% of the Earth's surface.[1] It is vital for all known forms of life. On Earth, 96.5% of the planet's water is found in seas and oceans, 1.7% in groundwater, 1.7% in glaciers and the ice caps of Antarctica and Greenland, a small fraction in other large water bodies, and 0.001% in the air as vapor, clouds (formed of solid and liquid water particles suspended in air), and precipitation.[2][3] Only 2.5% of the Earth's water is freshwater, and 98.8% of that water is in ice and groundwater. Less than 0.3% of all freshwater is in rivers, lakes, and the atmosphere, and an even smaller amount of the Earth's freshwater (0.003%) is contained within biological bodies and manufactured products.[2]Water on Earth moves continually through the water cycle of evaporation and transpiration (evapotranspiration), condensation, precipitation, and runoff, usually reaching the sea. Evaporation and transpiration contribute to the precipitation over land. Water used in the...

...Properties of Water
Lab # 1
Biology 111
January 23, 2011
INTRODUCTION
With surface tension it is made possible for items such as paper clips to float on water, because a molecule within the mass of a liquid encounters gravity to all adjacent molecules in all directions. When you use surfactant substances this creates hydrogen bonds. Purpose of experiment 1 will be to show that once the surfactant substances hits the hydrogen bond pulls down paper clips. Things that are less dense will tend to float on water.
We will look at the properties of water along with usage of oil, water and salt. Water is a solvent that can be dissolve solutes. Solutes like salts (polar substance) need polar solvents in order to dissolve. Purpose of experiment 2 is to prove that non polar solutes need non polar solvents to dissolve and polar solutes need polar solvents to dissolve.
Ph acidity of substances will be measured based on the scale of the solution. The solution can be an acidic, base or neutral ranging from 0 to 14. Purpose of the experiment 3 will show that with each level of ph concentration will have a different liquids based on there ph scale.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Procedure 1
In this procedure what as used was a round plastic bowl, cool tap water, blue colored dawn dish soap, 3 silver (metal)...

...﻿Properties of Water
Introduction:
Water's chemical description is H2O. As the diagram to the left shows, that is one atom of oxygen bound to two atoms of hydrogen. The hydrogen atoms are "attached" to one side of the oxygen atom, resulting in a water molecule having a positive charge on the side where the hydrogen atoms are and a negative charge on the other side, where the oxygen atom is. This uneven distribution of charge is called polarity. Since opposite electrical charges attract, water molecules tend to attract each other, making water kind of "sticky." As the right-side diagram shows, the side with the hydrogen atoms (positive charge) attracts the oxygen side (negative charge) of a different water molecule. (If the water molecule here looks familiar, remember that everyone's favorite mouse is mostly water, too). This property of water is known as cohesion.
All these water molecules attracting each other mean they tend to clump together. This is why water drops are, in fact, drops! If it wasn't for some of Earth's forces, such as gravity, a drop of water would be ball shaped -- a perfect sphere. Even if it doesn't form a perfect sphere on Earth, we should be happy water is sticky. Water is called the "universal solvent" because it dissolves more...

...Water is the most abundant molecule on Earth's surface. It is essential for life on Earth. The unique properties of water makes life possible on earth.
One property of water is surface tension. Water has a surface tension 2 – 4 times the surface tension of most organic liquids. Surface tension is highest for pure water. This enables insects called neuston to walk and live on the surface ofwater in low-nutrient water bodies, where they would starve if immersed in the water. This anomaly permits life when the water nutrients are too low to support life. This helps add nutrients to the subsurface water so that it will support life and insects and so that fish can then live below the surface.
Heat capacity is another property of water. The specific heat capacity of a compound is a measure of how difficult it is to get the molecules of the compound to vibrate. Because after all temperature is just a measure of molecular motion, the more the molecules of a compound vibrate, the higher the temperature of the compound. Because of the hydrogen bonding of water molecules it is very difficult to get them to vibrate compared to the molecules of any other common substance. Water is therefore said to have a high specific heat capacity or specific heat. Since...

...Water has many unique properties that make life possible on Earth. One property is cohesion. The cohesion property is properly defined as the binding of water molecules by hydrogen bonds. Water has this property as a result of the chemical bonding between water. Cohesion of the strong hydrogen bonds allows the water molecules to stick together, almost as a unit of one. A force exerted on one of the molecules will be exerted on all of the adjacent molecules as a result of cohesion. Cohesion, often with the cooperation of adhesion, the clinging of one substance to another, adds to the function and ability of water to overcome strong natural forces, such as gravity. When water is in its liquid state of matter, the hydrogen bonds are very frail and weak, about one-twentieth as strong as covalent bonds. The bonds are made, broken, and remade very quickly. Each hydrogen bond lasts only a few trillionths of a second, but the constant synthesis of new bonds with a succession of partners acquires equilibrium. Therefore, a significant percentage of all the water molecules are bonded to their neighbors, making water a more orderly structured liquid than most other known liquids. A property related to cohesion is surface tension, a measure of how difficult it is to stretch or break the...